Although I often reproduce the front of picture postcards to illustrate our park system, I have never before copied the back, as shown below. This card, from the mid 1950's, states that the
parks and gardens in Allentown help make it one of the most beautiful cities in America. The Rose and Old Fashion Gardens no longer look like they did in the picture above. The water lilies are gone from the ponds, and the gardens are reduced in size, no longer reaching the ponds. Our parks are still beautiful, but we must guard and fight against the continuous reductions. This coming Wednesday evening the Wildlands Conservancy will try to convince City Council that removing the beautiful dam will improve the quality of the stream. Although there are certain factors which will reduce the validity of their argument, I will defend the dam on the abstraction called beauty.
Picture postcards are made because of beauty. Beauty is what we show off to relatives and friends when they visit Allentown. Help me keep at least our park system a postcard.
The rose garden of the early 1970s carries special significance in my heart. As a child, I would walk there with my grandmother. I found it to be one of the most beautiful and awe inspiring parks I'd ever seen or have ever seen since. Thank you for reminding me of that.
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